Israel Matzav: Why Netanyahu is a winner in Massachusetts

Why Netanyahu is a winner in Massachusetts

I don't know whether Senator-elect Scott Brown (R-MA) and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have ever met. A search of Google images didn't turn up any pictures of them together. While I hope they will meet, that doesn't have to happen for Prime Minister Netanyahu to reap the benefits of Tuesday's stunning election in Massachusetts. Haaretz's Aluf Benn is in a tizzy over the possibility that Netanyahu will be a big beneficiary of what happened yesterday. And he's right to be in a tizzy. Because it's good news for Israel that the Obama agenda - with a 'Palestinian state' as its foreign policy linchpin - went down to a resounding defeat on Tuesday.

Over the past nine months, Netanyahu has managed to curb pressure from Obama, who enjoys a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. Now, however, Obama will be more dependent on the support of his Republican rivals, the supporters and friends of Netanyahu.

No Israeli politician matches his steps to the political goings-on in the U.S. as much as Netanyahu. He dragged out negotiations over the settlement freeze and then decided it would last for 10 months and end in September - just in time for U.S. Congressional elections in which Democrats are expected to suffer heavy losses.

Netanyahu understood he must withstand the pressure until his right-wing supporters recapture a position of power on Capitol Hill and work to rein in the White House's political activities. The election in Massachusetts, one of the most liberal states in America, will from this moment on be a burden for Obama.

Proponents of the peace process will view this as a missed opportunity for Obama, who spent his first year in office on fruitless diplomatic moves that failed to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinians. From now on, it will be harder for Obama. Congressional support is essential to the political process and in the current political atmosphere in the U.S. - in which the parties are especially polarized - Netanyahu can rely on Republican support to thwart pressure on Israel.

As Ronald Reagan would say, it's morning in America. And in Israel. Thank God.

Israel Matzav: Why Netanyahu is a winner in Massachusetts